Brad Redekopp, who is the president of Cherry Creek Homes, confirmed to CTV News he intends to seek the party’s nomination in the riding.

Redekopp said he’ll release a statement in “the coming days” and declined further comment.

Conservative leadership candidate Brad Trost
Brad Trost, then campaigning for the Conservative Party leadership, speaks during the Conservative leadership debate in Saskatoon on Wednesday, Nov.9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

MP Dan Albas was informed by the Conservative Party of Canada that he has been acclaimed

Kelowna News Staff/
Dec. 19, 2017 10:30 a.m./
Local News/
News

MP Dan Albas was informed by the Conservative Party of Canada that he was acclaimed as the party’s candidate in the riding of Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola for the upcoming 2019 federal election.

The nominations in 92 Conservative held ridings opened on Nov 1. Conservative MPs who were elected in by-elections since 2015 were exempted from nomination challenges for 2019.

If a challenger intended to run against an incumbent Conservative MP, they needed to submit a petition supporting their candidacy with at least 50 signatures from the existing riding association members by 5 p.m., Friday Dec. 15. The party did not receive any applications from challengers in the riding of Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola.

“2017 has been a momentous year for the Conservative Party! We elected a new leader in Andrew Scheer and quickly united behind his positive message for Canadians.” said MP Dan Albas, in a statement.

“With a mandate from my party as their candidate for 2019, I can focus on the work of spreading that positive alternative to our communities.”

The riding of Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola includes the communities of Kelowna within specific boundaries, West Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland, Keremeos, Princeton, Merritt, and Logan Lake.

The Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola Conservative Association is a non-profit association representing Conservative Party of Canada members living in these communities.

CORNWALL – The Conservative Party riding association in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry announced December 16th that Guy Lauzon has officially been recognized as the candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada for the next federal election. That election is scheduled to take place in October 2019.

“I am honoured and humbled to be given the opportunity to seek re-election and to continue to serve the residents of our Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry”, stated Lauzon in a media release sent Monday.

Mr. Lauzon was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry in 2004 and subsequently re-elected in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015. Mr. Lauzon has held several additional roles throughout the years including a 7 year term as the National Conservative Caucus Chair where he worked weekly with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, members of Cabinet, and Caucus colleagues. He has also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and as Deputy Government Whip.

Thank you! I am honoured to be acclaimed as the #Conservative candidate for Foothills in 2019. I am proud to be a part of the @CPC_HQ because of the work we are doing for #Canadians, and for what we will accomplish in 2019 & beyond with @AndrewScheer

At least three Conservative Members of Parliament from Alberta are expected to face challenges for their nominations ahead of the expected 2019 federal election (news of two of the nomination challenges was first reported by Ryan Hastman in the latest episode of The Daveberta Podcast).

Obhrai was first elected under the Reform Party banner in 1997 and ran for the Conservative Party leadership in 2017.

Amery served as the MLA for Calgary-East from 1993 until he was defeated in the 2015 election by New Democrat Robyn Luff. He ran twice before he was first elected, placing second behind NDP MLA Barry Pashak in 1986 and 1989. Amery defeated Pashak in 1993.

Lake was first elected as the MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods in 2006 and was challenged ahead of the 2015 election by Leduc County Mayor John Whalen and former Edmonton police officer Moe Banga. Banga was disqualified from the nomination and was soon after elected to Edmonton City Council in the Ward 12 by-election called to replace outgoing Councillor Amarjeet Sohi (who was elected as the Liberal MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods).

Francis is on the board of the Leduc-Beaumont United Conservative Party association and was previously involved with the local PC Party Association.

Yellowhead

Jim Eglinski Yellowhead by-election Conservative MP
Jim Eglinski

School principal Robert Duiker is challenging incumbent Jim Eglinski for the Conservative nomination in Yellowhead. Duiker is the principal of Rocky Christian School, a private school located in Rocky Mountain House. He is the former president of the now-defunct Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Progressive Conservative Association.

Ryan Ouderkirk, who works as an executive assistant to Fort McMurray-Cold Lake MP David Yurdiga, is also challenging Eglinski for the nomination.

Eglinski is a former RCMP Officer and mayor of Fort St. John, B.C., and was first elected to the House of Commons in a 2014 by-election. Eglinski raised some eyebrows earlier this year when he was featured in a Maclean’s magazine article about his participation in Jasper’s annual Pride Week celebrations.

The Conservative Party quietly opened nominations for the next election early this month and, I am told, also closed sales of new memberships for party nominations shortly afterward.

Chris Sweet, the son of current Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative MP David Sweet, is seeking the federal Conservative nomination for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas. The federal election is scheduled for the fall of 2019. - By Kevin Werner, HCN

Chris Sweet could be joining other political families if he succeeds in his quest to become the Conservative MP for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas in the 2019 federal election.

Sweet, who last month announced he will be campaigning for the riding’s Conservative nomination, may join his father, veteran Conservative MP David Sweet, in Parliament.

The latter was first elected as MP for Ancaster-Dundas-Westdale-Flamborough in 2006. He was elected MP in 2015 in the new riding of Flamborough-Glanbrook in 2015.

“It’s been talked about,” said Chris Sweet during a recent interview. “But aside from the trivia, I will work on my own merit.”

There have been numerous fathers and sons who have served in Parliament, and in various provincial legislatures, years apart. Most notably there is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his late father Pierre.

But there are few who have served together. Notable are Real Caouette, a Quebec MP who served from 1946 to 1976 and was the leader of the Social Credit Party from 1971 to 1976. His son Gilles Caouette was an MP between 1972 until 1976, before becoming the acting Social Credit Party leader in 1976.

And there was David Lewis, elected NDP MP in 1965 until 1974. He served as leader of the federal NDP from 1971 to 1974. His son, Stephen Lewis became an Ontario MPP in 1963 until 1978, and he served as provincial NDP leader from 1970 to 1978.

Chris Sweet, 33, doesn’t dwell too much on any familial political connections. Instead, he is more interested in reaching out to voters and becoming better known to residents in the riding. There is also some thinking that even through the federal election isn’t scheduled until the fall of 2019, there is always the possibility of Trudeau calling an early election.

“I have always been passionate about community service,” said Sweet, who operates his own business as an event host and DJ for weddings and corporate events. “I want to help people any way I can.”

He said the political bug grabbed him only in the last year, and it was then he started thinking about seeking public office.

“The more I thought about it, the more I thought I was suited to it,” he said.

He said his father has offered some advice on his burgeoning political career: listen to the people.

“He basically told me — and it’s important for any job — I had to listen to people,” said Sweet. “About 80 per cent of the job is listening. I’m in my learning stage.”

He said there are a few basic issues people are concerned about, such as the deficit, trust in government, and he said especially how Trudeau and his finance minister Bill Morneau have been accused of ethical lapses and tax irregularities.

Sweet said the best way to help businesses grow is to eliminate the “road blocks” and then step back and watch them flourish.

As for the Liberals decision to allow the legalization of recreational marijuana, scheduled to start July 1, Sweet wouldn’t say if he or his party would try to repeal it if the Conservatives win a majority government in 2019.

“It will be the law of the land,” he said.

But he wants to make sure people are using marijuana in a safe way, such as no smoking and driving, and any businesses selling cannabis is far enough away from schools, daycare centres and recreation facilities.

Sweet, a Hamilton District School graduate, who recently married and is a homeowner, can relate to the struggles younger people are encountering these days.

He said it’s always a risk to operate a business, even when the economy is humming along, while also trying to start a family.

“My generation is the one most affected (by the Liberals’ economic issues),” he said. “I’ve got some common ground with them. A lot of people are struggling with starting a family, starting a career. The best way to help them is to empower them.”

Sweet did take a shot at Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas Liberal MP Filomena Tassi, a first-time politician, questioning what she has done for the riding since her 2015 election.

“My father brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the riding,” said Sweet, referring to the federal help for the Dundas School of Art, McMaster University, and the Ancaster Aquatic Centre. “We are not seeing anything close to that with our current MP.”

As Sweet prepares for what could be a competitive nomination process — no other candidate has emerged and no date for the meeting has been set — he is already knocking on doors and meeting people.

Former Progressive Conservative MLA Moe Amery is challenging incumbent MP Deepak Obhrai for the Conservative nomination in a battle of political warhorses that is already creating hard feelings.

Amery, who represented Calgary-East from 1993 until his defeat in the 2015 provincial election, filed papers with the Conservative party last week to run in Calgary Forest Lawn and take on Obhrai, an MP for the past two decades.

In an interview, Amery said he was urged to run against Obhrai by residents of the east Calgary riding who feel that the veteran MP isn’t fulfilling his duties as he has in the past.

“This is a time we need a change,” said Amery, 62.

“Some people thought he doesn’t really want to be an active member.”

Amery cited a note Obhrai sent to new Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer after the party’s leadership contest this year, saying he was not interested in a specific role in the Opposition shadow cabinet.

Obhrai, first elected as a Reform MP in 1997, is the longest-serving member of the Conservative caucus. He finished last in May’s Conservative leadership vote.

Obhrai was not available for comment Wednesday.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, the 67-year-old Obhrai did not name Amery but said he intended to fend off a challenge mounted “by someone whom I have supported in his own political career in the past and whom I have always considered a friend.”

“This conspiracy was crafted while I was helping the Conservative Party across Canada, during our outreach effort in the byelection,” he wrote.

“This challenge came as a complete shock to the party, especially since I have been strong in promoting the party nationally.”

Amery said calling his effort a conspiracy was “laughable” and he still considers Obhrai a friend.

“Since when is an open, fair nomination … considered a conspiracy? Nominations reinvigorate members and make the political process more exciting,” he said.

“I don’t know why he’s taken it so personally.”

Amery is still required to go through an interview process with the Conservative party before he is formally approved to run. No nomination date has been set.

The deadline for challenging incumbent Conservative MPs was last Friday.

No other incumbent Calgary Conservative MPs will face nomination fights. Nominations will open for non-incumbent seats in the new year and there is expected to be heavy competition to be the Conservative standard-bearer in Calgary Centre and Calgary Skyview, which were won by the Liberals in 2015.

Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant is being challenged in her riding by Mike Coates, who says he did not choose to run against Gallant for the Conservative nomination because she has a history making political missteps.

He is a businessman who spent decades behind the scenes in politics, most recently chairing Kevin O'Leary's campaign to lead the Conservative Party. She was first elected as Canadian Alliance MP and has spent the better part of two decades in the House of Commons, occasionally finding her way into the national spotlight with controversial remarks.

Now Mike Coates is challenging Cheryl Gallant for the Conservative nomination in the Ontario riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke.

"I think it's very important that people who can bring life experience to the table, who really know how business runs, throw their hat in the ring. Kevin, I think, at the end of the day didn't have the interest to see it through to the end. I'm going to," Coates told CBC News.

The Conservative Party opened up nominations in the ridings of 92 MPs across the country, all of whom held their seats since the last election.

The Conservative Party of Canada won't say precisely how many incumbent MPs are being challenged for their seats. Would-be nominees have already submitted their applications to the party. The next step is interviewing with a candidate selection committee. Then a national committee decides whether to greenlight an individual's candidacy.

The Canadian Press reported last week that at least three Tory MPs who ran for party leader this year are now facing challenges for their seats: Kellie Leitch, Brad Trost and Deepak Obhrai.

CBC News has learned of at least two more Conservative MPs facing challenges: Edmonton area MP Mike Lake and Jim Eglinski, who represents the western Alberta riding of Yellowhead.

Nomination races in any party can risk creating bad blood, though Conservatives have remained largely cordial thus far.

In the case of the Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke face-off, Gallant has a long history in the riding and beat her second-placed Liberal challenger last election by more than 13 percentage points.

Foot in mouth

However, Gallant has also garnered public attention for controversy and missteps.

She publicly apologized in 2016 for using an image of slain Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the Canadian soldier who died three years ago in the attack on Parliament Hill, in a partisan fundraiser that offered potential donors Easter hams.

In 2015, she was criticized for saying Ontario's sex education curriculum was written by someone facing child pornography charges, which it was not, and that it might result in children being "groomed for exploitation."

Coates said he chose the riding because it's where he lives, not because of Gallant's record.

"This is not about Cheryl," he said. "The party put together a democratic process in November and they're looking for a good democratic race. I've chosen to compete in the riding that I'm housed."

Coates held several high-profile positions with lobbying firm Hill and Knowlton, including president of the Americas, before retiring earlier this year. He has been involved in conservative politics since 1980, when he worked on Parliament Hill. He was secretary and treasurer for the federal Progressive Conservatives and helped Stephen Harper in his debate preparation for three elections.

While he wants to put the emphasis on using his business experience to improve the local economy, Coates says after nearly 20 years with Gallant as MP, "the party is entitled to look at another option."

"I wouldn't want people to feel they have to vote Liberal to get change."

MP Cheryl Gallant has defeated candidates from all opposing parties since winning the riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke in 2000. Now she’ll have to battle one of her own.

Michael Coates, 61, a longtime Conservative backroom operative, has declared his intention to challenge Gallant, 57, for the Conservative nomination in the next general election, scheduled for 2019.

Coates said he submitted his nomination papers by the Dec. 15 deadline, the first step in a process that should result in a runoff with Gallant, possibly in the spring of 2018.

“It’s kind of been a lifelong ambition of mine,” Coates said of his desire to seek public office.

“I’ve always had great respect for people who put their name on a ballot. This is my opportunity to bring something to a community that I think it badly needs. And that is jobs and someone who is interested in economic development and investment.”

Coates recently retired as a senior executive at Hill+Knowlton Strategies and he and his wife Maureen have lived on Centennial Lake, outside Calabogie, for 12 years. He’s been involved with a group that brought improved cellular coverage to the Eganville area, an example of how better online communication can help the county’s economic infrastructure.

The Nova Scotia native also sees huge potential growth with both the nuclear and defence industries, as the riding is home to CFB Petawawa and the Chalk River nuclear facility.

He plans to run a positive campaign and not engage in name-calling or criticism of Gallant, famous for a series of verbal gaffes, social conservative views and climate change suspicions, not to mention an avoidance of the mainstream media.

Coates, who has three grown children, has been a lifelong Conservative — “I was born in blue diapers” — and has worked with the likes of Perrin Beatty, Lowell Murray and Stephen Harper. He was also chairman of the aborted campaign to elect television personality and businessman Kevin O’Leary as leader of the Conservatives.

He has spoken to Gallant about the challenge. “She was disappointed,” was all he would say. It will be the first time in 18 years she has faced an opponent for the Conservative flag.

Coates has begun selling memberships that will allow supporters to vote in a runoff. As an incumbent, he knows she is a formidable opponent.

She’s been elected six times in the riding, narrowly defeating incumbent Liberal Hec Clouthier in 2000 when she ran for the Canadian Alliance. None of the other five elections were very close, even winning during the Liberal surge of 2015 by about 7,500 votes.

Ponder on this -- what would impel someone to fight for the nomination of a sitting member? And when you're through with that, ponder further on what would make four or five of them face such challenges?

The MP has to have made themselves particularly vulnerable.

The people facing a challenge are all at the 'fundamentalist' end of the political spectrum. But they do speak for a section of the public. These steps are designed to prevent this group from having a voice.

You have to wonder if this isn't being coordinated from points outside the actual ridings, and that means -- financing! Recruiting! And that says -- party insider to me. Perhaps the leader.

Ponder on this -- what would impel someone to fight for the nomination of a sitting member? And when you're through with that, ponder further on what would make four or five of them face such challenges?

The MP has to have made themselves particularly vulnerable.

The people facing a challenge are all at the 'fundamentalist' end of the political spectrum. But they do speak for a section of the public. These steps are designed to prevent this group from having a voice.

You have to wonder if this isn't being coordinated from points outside the actual ridings, and that means -- financing! Recruiting! And that says -- party insider to me. Perhaps the leader.

Any thoughts?

It wouldn't be unusual.

Most of the people facing nomination challenges have embarrassed the party in some way in recent years. Scheer is pretty much unable to boot them from the caucus or reject their nomination but he could try and make sure they aren't candidates again by having them lose nominations. He avoids pissing off factions of the party while making sure these MPs don't cause him any grief.

Ponder on this -- what would impel someone to fight for the nomination of a sitting member? And when you're through with that, ponder further on what would make four or five of them face such challenges?

The MP has to have made themselves particularly vulnerable.

The people facing a challenge are all at the 'fundamentalist' end of the political spectrum. But they do speak for a section of the public. These steps are designed to prevent this group from having a voice.

You have to wonder if this isn't being coordinated from points outside the actual ridings, and that means -- financing! Recruiting! And that says -- party insider to me. Perhaps the leader.

Any thoughts?

still the number of mp's facing challenges is rather small and most are in Alberta a province the conservatives do really well in . it seem natural for there to be a lot of interest in being a cpc candidate in a safe alberta riding

as for Trost , my understanding is the party seriously though about kicking him out after the last leadership race , when it was revealed he may have leaked a party members list to a firearms group . but he's remained an mp since . but trying to beat trost in his own riding seems rather unlikely ? its the base of his support and he's been mp since 2004 . if Scheer wanted him gone so badly why not just kick him out of caucus or tell him he won't sign his nomination papers to run in 2019 ?

the challenge against Gallant seems doomed for failure anyways , she's always had deep support in that riding ( especially the rural areas ) and been mp since 2000 . the new guy has a long way to go to mount a serious challenge at the riding association level and I'm not convinced it can be done

Leitch seems to be facing a more serious challenge as there were 2 people wanting to run against her and she's only been an mp since 2011 . and most of her profile seems to have come from her failed leadership run as no one remembers her time in Ottawa before that , so I don't know she may or may not survive this challenge

To Prog T: to my mind, this is where we lose our functioning democracy. If a leader can cull the elected representatives of the people, and get more compliant replacements, are people better or worse represented? This is what seems to me to be forgotten. The people who are elected represent the people in their riding. The party can kick them out of the party, but to make it so the dominant faction can use the election to diminish other factions seems to me something that should be rarely used. I think the numbers suggest that this is a cull of the social conservatives.

Which means a part of the population is deprived of a voice in the political arena. Pure and simple. And if they can do it to them, how do you know they can't do it to you?

But it isn't just a moral argument. It's also practical, because what do you think happens when a group like this is thrown out of the party like this? They will almost certainly use their political leverage, and revenge will be in the air. The issue isn't abortion -- it's all the craziness about gender. And none of the parties will say so.

This seems to me to be Scheer picking off some of his rivals. Just as he has already picked off Bernier and O'Leary. Awfully arrogant for the winner on the 13th ballot! I suppose he thinks this is a way to party unity. Small, but united.

---oo000oo---

Re: RCO: you are right, in the strict numbers sense -- it's only five seats out of 98 seats, or 5% -- but it's effect is maximized by who they are. What do you imagine the scuttlebutt within the party will be? Just in terms of the animal basics of politics, loyalty means a lot. I think there will be a "chill" around speaking up to the leader.

I already complained that it silences the social conservative wing of the party. But it also presumes the elected members are almost employees of the party, which can accept or deny them a seat. Don't forget, the biggest part of the present Conservative Party were Reformers. They think the MPs are representatives.

My bet is that you'd achieve more real unity if it were understood that differences are hammered out inside the caucus, and the discipline comes in when facing the public with one message that the disparate group agrees on. People will stay active in organizations if they feel they get a chance to make their case, and where the odd compromise gives them a political gain.

I fear that Scheer doesn't know how to 'broker' things between parties, and keep that unity. So far, he hasn't given people anything to rally around. Rather, he seems to be closing down voices within the party. It will not go unnoticed by others.

I have no idea why the CPC felt the need to lock down candidates nearly two years prior to the next election when the Government has a majority mandate but they did.

In terms of the "why"
My first thought?

If they are incumbents it usually means their riding is friendly to the party and if that is the case and you win you get a pretty sweet gig.

Targeting former leadership candidates makes a ton of sense because they just spent a boat load of cash and took on a lot of debt to lose a leadership election and likely won't have the resources available they have had in past to fight off a riding level challenge.

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